National Guard troops return home to hero's welcome

Some members of the Missouri National Guard returned home to a hero's welcome after spending the past year on duty, mostly in Kuwait.

Wednesday's dismissal ceremony at the Missouri State Fairgrounds marked the last official duty of their deployment. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon was on hand to express his gratitude.

"Thank you for your courage and your faithful devotion to duty," Nixon said.

When the ceremony wrapped up, the soldiers were eager to be reunited with their loved ones.

"I'm going to go surprise my kids now, so that's why I'm in a rush," said Dan Haney. "I just want to go see my kids."

The soldiers are members of the 35th Combat Aviation Brigade.

"There were helicopter missions that went out every day, and my job was to track them and make sure that they were safe," said Noelle Foster.

The soldiers knew they'd get a warm welcome home, but they might not have anticipated some of the challenges they'll face now that they're back. For example, children may be used to a household where just mom or dad has been in charge.

The National Guard has a program that offers a holistic approach to looking out for citizen-soldiers and their families. It aims to address their mental, physical, spiritual, financial and social needs.

"It tells them all their options they have of things they can take advantage of, either with the VA or other veterans organizations, support for post-traumatic stress disorder or anything like that," said veteran Pat McCormick. "It's a really good program."

The Resilience Program was started by Maj. General Steve Danner.

He said that when he joined the military more than 30 years ago, the Missouri National Guard had one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. He said the changes since then have helped vastly reduce those numbers.

"When we got the chance, we made some changes," he said.

One thing that should help many of the soldiers feel more comfortable is that their jobs are reserved for them.

Hillary Clinton did not have a State Department email account while she served as America's top diplomat, a senior state department official said Monday, and instead used a personal email account during her four years on the job.